LowCarbonPower.org Fact Checker

Claim: the share of renewables in the generation mix is already quite high, at 86.4% as of 2020

Source: GlobalData

What the data says: Using the same method that GlobalData claims to have used, the share of renewables in 2020 comes out to be 79.4% of the total. More importantly, the claim is misleading because the numbers do not include net imports. In 2020, Denmark imported almost 20% of its electricity. Taking this into account, domestic renewable electricity generation accounted for 63% of the total consumption. More data about Denmark.

Claim: Increased reliance on Russian gas, which clearly is problematic now, and not actually reducing any of their carbon emissions, all at the same time

Source: Odd Lots podcast, Mar 14, 2022: This Is The Case For Investing In Nuclear Power

What the data says: Germany has drastically reduced its nuclear power generation, from 22% of the total electricity in 2010 to 12% in 2021. At the same time, gas has gone from 14.3% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2021 - indeed an increase but a very minor one. The overall share of low-carbon electricity increased from 39% in 2010 to 53.9% in 2021. This means that Germany has indeed reduced their carbon emissions from electricity generation. More data about Germany.

Claim: In Japan, following the multiple reactor meltdowns at Fukushima, more than 40 nuclear reactors closed permanently or indefinitely without materially raising fossil-fueled generation.

Source: Yale E360

What the data says: In 2010, Japan got 24.6% of its electricity from nuclear energy. In 2014, the share of nuclear energy had decreased to 0. At the same time, gas increased from 27.8% to 40.7%, coal from 26.6% to 32.7% and oil from 8.2% to 10.7%. The overall share of electricity generated from fossil fuels increased from 62.6% to 84.2%. More data about Japan.

Claim: Just short of 100% of all the electricity Scotland uses is from renewable sources.

Source: Nicola Sturgeon

What the data says: More than a third of wind power in the UK is generated in Scotland. While impressive, the variability of wind power generation means that backup is needed when wind power output is low. Scotland generates significant amounts of electricity from nuclear energy. It is also connected to the electricity grid in England, which means that it can import electricity from other parts of the UK when needed. In 2020, 56% of electricity consumed in Scotland came from renewable energy sources. More data about United Kingdom.